Cigar Reviews

Degenerate Cigars

imageA new cigar company is coming out and it happens to be from one from one of our own members. When we heard this was happening we had to grab the opportunity to talk them for a bit and find out what it’s all about and not surprisingly there was more to it than just being a new cigar company. After talking to Sawyer for a few minutes it was obvious that this was something that we wanted to help spread the word about.

Here’s a little bit of what we talked about and what Sawyer had to say about his cigars.

“Currently I’m an Army Ranger however I’m in the process of becoming a civilian. Through my company I hope to raise awareness of several issues that plague our Special Operations community chief among them being the rate of veteran suicides. I plan on donating a portion of the profits from every cigar sold to a carefully selected military themed charity. (Lead the Way foundation, Dry Hooch, Special Operations Warrior foundation, ect) The cigars that are being made will all be done in small batches however the quality will be very high.

According to our rollers we have a release date hopefully end of January or February we have a Facebook of facebook.com/degeneratecigarco and an email of degeneratecigarco@gmail.com [think about asking for a preorder everybody]
Because I’m still in the military Im working with several state agencies as to which tobacco taxes I’ll be paying because I’m a “special case”.

The sticks are going to be sold in bundles of 10 for 100$ were estimating that around 10-15% of those dollars will be going to the charities mentioned. Keeping it military themed. The Ruffians are a great following and I’m hoping to make a difference with the money raised.”

What more could we really say about this? From what we’ve seen the cigars are very well constructed and have a great burn. (Just look at the photo above.) Degenerate Cigar Co is veteran owned an operated and it’s a great idea with a great purpose behind it. We’re proud to support his idea and hope to see it do well. Currently you can follow them on Instagram @DegenerateCigars.

Make sure you follow him and like his Facebook page. Feel free to shoot over emails asking for more information and ordering possibilities.

Sons of Anarchy

SOAEver been skeptical of a product that promotes a TV show or film. Well fear not when it comes to the Redwood original! The bad ass bikers “The Sons of Anarchy” have their own sticks for you to sample and enjoy. This truly is the easy way to meet Mr. Mayhem.

Let’s take a look at the branding on this stick. Well there’s no mistaking the Reaper on the band and a nice touch is the tyre track circling the cigar. Redwood Original since 1967 also features prominently.

A deep dark wrapper shows little veining and it lights particularly well. The draw is smooth and requires little effort in getting started. On to the main event and the first flavours to hit are a dark roasted coffee and leather, plenty of deep aromas that settle nicely on the palette. The cigar soon gets into its stride and doesn’t let up. A great ash and even burn give signs of a quality stick. The flavours have evened out and are reminiscent of dry cedar and a peppery bite that lingers at the back of the throat. This bad boy throws up great plumes of smoke and no let up in the flavour.

As the cigar burns down you are treated to more great tastes, the pepper is there and a creaminess hits you at the halfway point bringing a more mellow note to the proceedings. The ash has fallen away now, and there is almost a slight hint of dark chocolate that adds more to the complexity of this great stick.

As always, all good things must come to an end and this doesn’t disappoint. The final third has after notes of burnt coffee and the smoke doesn’t let up!

I thoroughly enjoyed this deeply flavourful cigar. Dark and brooding, I’d say this is more of a Clay Morrow than a Jax Teller. A quality aroma and finish that put to bed the misconception that all branded products aren’t worth their salt. Check out a Son’s if you get the chance, you won’t want to miss this Redwood original.

 

Article and photo by Distinguished Ruffian member @Ian300

Leaf by Oscar: Island Jim #2

IMG_2679Until recently, in my area of Florida, it was difficult to find anything from Leaf by Oscar which of course included the Island Jim. Thanks to the cigar bombing list I’ve been lucky enough to try a few and this time when I was sent an Island Jim #2 I knew I needed to write about it for a couple of reasons. First, they are difficult to get around here, next they look amazing, and third I knew exactly which prop I was going to use, (come on you know my love of toys…excuse me deluxe action figures) and so the photos began. After the “photo shoot” with the cigar and its model it was time to smoke it. Luckily Distinguished Ruffian_Juice was free to go grab some drinks at one of our local hang outs, The House of Brews.

The initial look of this stick is delightful. The wrapper is smooth with light veining and none of it heavy. Its shape is that of almost a torpedo with an unfinished foot and an open head. The construction feels solid with no dead or open spots to be found. The smell from the body was not overbearing and gave off notes of leather, wet grass, and a bit of nuttiness. From the foot these odors were more prominent and gained slight spice and coffee notes.

Lighting is easy thanks to the “shaggy” foot that everyone seems to be referring to it as. I chose not to cut the head since it was already open. The draw offered little resistance and it was easy to get a nice, full mouthful of medium weighted smoke that delivered all the flavors this cigar had to offer.

From the first draw I immediately picked up the peppery taste that I noticed from smelling the foot. That flavor was well complemented by the taste of nuts and a distant flavor of hay. As I continued to smoke, the construction of this cigar held up to its looks. There was a consistent even burn with no runs and a tight greyish ash that held for 1.5” to 2” before falling off each time. I made it through the first half with virtually no change in flavor, which was fine by me since it was fantastic.

As I neared the second third of the cigar the spicy flavor started to take a back seat to new heavily roasted coffee tones and a bready taste becoming more prominent. While the change this late in the cigar was unexpected it was not detrimental to the smoke. It didn’t change my over all opinion of the stick rather it added a new dynamic to it that made me more interested. With this new flavor I smoked this cigar down to the nub until it began to burn my fingers and then used my knife to hold it until I could smoke no more of it.

In total this is a great cigar. Aesthetically it is a great looking cigar, the construction is phenomenal, the lighting is easy, the draw is comfortable, it provides plenty of medium weighted smoke and the flavor is well balanced and more than enjoyable. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a cigar in the medium to not quite heavy range and it is great for either daytime or a nighttime smoke.

 

Wrapper: Nicaragua Jalapa

Binder: Honduran

Filler: Unreleased

Honduras
Size: 6.5 x 52

Taste: Medium body.

Website: Leafbyoscarcigar.com

Price: Around $10.00 a stick depending on location.

Rating: 4.4 out of 5 pints.